1962 Fender Jaguar Guitar

This 1962 Fender Jaguar is not the Holy Grail of collectible guitars, despite being a pre-CBS model.

The original run of Fender Jaguars were built from 1962 to 1975. They were intended to be the top of the line model, but never became as popular (or collectible) as the Stratocaster and Telecaster. They were, of course, popular with the surf crowd and later with the grunge bands.

This one is all original and 100% complete. That means no changed parts, and no modifications. There is a lot of finish wear, with nicks and dings, but this vintage Jaguar is structurally sound with no cracks, breaks, or repairs. One of the tuners is chipped on the end, but it still works ok, and I chose not to mess with its originality. I hope I look this good when I am 48.

It has a very nice straight neck with great frets. The finish is worn off the back of the neck and it feels great. There are faint impressions along the top edge where someone wrote the names of the notes along the top of the neck. This is not a big deal, and it does not affect playability at all. Actually, it is kind of cool (I think).

The serial number is 94XXX, dating this one to 1962.

All of the electronics work fine and it sounds great, perhaps with less hum than other guitars of the era I have played. When I had it, it had a pro set-up with 9s, and I think it played as well as it could. It has a nice mojo, and was a good catch for a guy that actually likes Jaguars.

However, I did not like it very much. I had trouble adjusting to the shorter scale, and was never fond of the goofy tremolo set-up and had a very hard time finding strings for it that worked well for me. Add in the horrible control layout, and it was a pretty easy decision to move it on to another owner.

Live and learn.